Star Lore Art
Erhard Ratdolt's Edition of
Poeticon Astronomicon
1482
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Star Lore ArtErhard Ratdolt's Edition of
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De Astronomica describes the Ptolemaic constellations, centering primarily on the Greek
and Roman mythology surrounding the constellations. The text is attributed to
Gaius Julius Hyginus, though the true authorship is disputed.
 According to Wikipedia, the first known printing, attributed to "Ferrara" dates back to 1475. According to Ian Ridpath, The first printed edition containing illustrations "...appeared in an edition of Hyginus’s Poeticon Astronomicon published by the German printer Erhard Ratdolt in Venice in 1482. Ratdolt commissioned an unknown artist to produce a series of woodcuts to accompany Hyginus’s text. The artist used a lot of creative freedom regarding the true positions of the stars. So, while this is not an accurate astronomical guide, it sure is a great piece of art. Ratdolt's issue also included descriptions of the Milky Way, the Sun, the Moon and the (then) known planets. We found high quality reproductions of Ratdolt's edition at fineartamerica.com, which attributes its copies to photographs taken by the Royal Astronomical Society's Science Photo Library. Other sources are the US Library of Congress and The Saxlproject. Sources: Wikipedia, Ian Ridpath Click on the pictures for larger images. |
Andromedafineartamerica.com |
Aquariusfineartamerica.com |
Arafineartamerica.com |
Argo Navisfineartamerica.com |
Ariesfineartamerica.com |
Boötesfineartamerica.com |
Cancerfineartamerica.com |
Canis Majorfineartamerica.com |
Canis Minorfineartamerica.com |
Capricornusfineartamerica.com |
Cassiopeiafineartamerica.com |
Centaurusfineartamerica.com |
Cepheusfineartamerica.com |
Cetusfineartamerica.com |
Corona Borealisfineartamerica.com |
Cygnusfineartamerica.com |
Delphinusfineartamerica.com |
Draco, Ursa Maj., Ursa Min.fineartamerica.com |
Eridanusfineartamerica.com |
Geminifineartamerica.com |
Herculesfineartamerica.com |
Hydra, Crater, Corvusfineartamerica.com |
Leofineartamerica.com |
Lepusfineartamerica.com |
Lyrafineartamerica.com |
Ophiuchus (Serpentarius)fineartamerica.com |
Orionfineartamerica.com |
Pegasusfineartamerica.com |
Perseusfineartamerica.com |
Picesfineartamerica.com |
Sagittafineartamerica.com |
Sagittariusfineartamerica.com |
Scorpius, Librafineartamerica.com |
Taurusfineartamerica.com |
Triangulusfineartamerica.com |
Virgofineartamerica.com |
Milky Way (Wheel of Stars)fineartamerica.com |
Sunfineartamerica.com |
Moonfineartamerica.com |
Mercuryfineartamerica.com |
Venusfineartamerica.com |
Marsfineartamerica.com |
Jupiterfineartamerica.com |
Saturnfineartamerica.com |
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